DANNY COLLINS is hoping it is a case of fifth time lucky as Sunderland take on Birmingham at St Andrews tonight.

The defender has played against the Blues on four occasions for the Black Cats but is yet to finish on the winning side.

Birmingham beat Sunderland home and away in the Premiership the season before last and also won at the Stadium of Light last term.

And when Sunderland looked set to take all three points at St Andrews in February, as the two clubs chased promotion from the Championship, Steve Bruce’s side grabbed a last-minute equaliser.

But Collins reckons it is about time Sunderland broke that winless streak.

He said: “Birmingham were right up there with us in the Championship last season but we managed to finish a couple of points ahead of them.

“I’ve played against them four times since coming to Sunderland but not beaten them yet, so it would be good to make it fifth time lucky and turn them over tonight.

“We’ve lost against them three times by a 1-0 scoreline and then drawn there last season, so it would be good to put that record right with a win.

“We should have beaten them at St Andrews last season. Carlos Edwards scored a good goal to put us in front but they equalised with a scrappy goal late on. That was a bit of a killer but hopefully we can make up for it this time.”

Sunderland kicked off their Premiership campaign with a 1-0 win over Spurs at the Stadium of Light, with Michael Chopra scoring an injury-time winner for the Black Cats.

Birmingham had an even tougher opener with a trip to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, and they gave Jose Mourinho’s all-stars a scare, although the Londoners ran out 3-2 victors.

Collins said: “We made a good start to the season on Saturday against Spurs.

“A draw would have been a decent result but to sneak a winner so late on was a bonus.

“It gives us an extra lift going into the Birmingham game.

“And Birmingham might be on a bit of a downer, too, after losing against Chelsea at the weekend.

“They played on Sunday, so they will also have had a day less to recover.”

Collins is a centre-back by trade but spent much of last season playing at left-back.

He was on the bench for the Spurs game, but came on at left-back for the final 20 minutes and is now aiming to force his way into Roy Keane’s starting XI.

He said: “I came on with 20 minutes to go on Saturday and I thought I did OK.

“All I can do is hope that I can impress the gaffer and push for a place in the starting line-up.”